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Stork Club, The

by: Hal Walker

Publication date: 1945

Usage: Public Domain

Topics: Comedy, Musical, Romance

Publisher: B.G. DeSylva Productions Inc

Item Size: 4.5G

Taken from IMDB: A hat-check girl at the Stork Club (Hutton) saves the life of a drowning man (Fitzgerald). A rich man, he decides to repay her by anonymously giving her a bank account, a luxury apartment and a charge account at a department store. When her boyfriend (DeFore) returns from overseas, he thinks she is a kept woman.

Addeddate: 2007-06-18 20:32:52

Closed captioning: no

Color: black & white

Director: Hal Walker

Identifier: the_stork_club

Run time: 01:38:19

Sound: sound

Year: 1945

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Reviews (7)

Reviewer: ivyny - - February 14, 2016
Subject: The Stork Club

Sweet story, Pops was adorably Irish and a pleasure to watch him mug for the camera. Betty Hutton was lovely. ☆☆☆☆☆

Reviewer: ghostmadl - - October 8, 2013
Subject: Fun!

Great music, great story line. And DeFoe is beautiful. :)

Reviewer: katperrr - - August 4, 2012
Subject: Great

Great

Reviewer: Dark Moon - - May 8, 2011
Subject: Plenty of comedy, and music, too!

With a bit of help, a hat-check girl at the Stork Club (Hutton) saves the life of a drowning man (Fitzgerald)—in fact, she has to fish him out ... twice. A wealthy tight-wadded and curmudgeonly Irishman (complete with Hiberno-English and brogue, which adds to the comedic effect), he nevertheless decides to become her anonymous benefactor (she reminds him of the wife who left him for another man). Showing an amazing lack of foresight, he allows her unlimited access to his funds (not realizing her capacity to spend it freely), and allows his attorney a free hand in arranging the details (not realizing his attorney's sense of devilment).
Fitzgerald's character, naturally wanting to see her reaction, arranges to be at the Stork Club when she receives the letter informing her of her benefits. She, thinking from his choice of clothing (he is a miser, and spends little on himself) that he is a poor tramp, gets him a job as busboy at the Stork Club, and then invites him to stay at her new apartments. Hilarity ensues; I haven't laughed so hard all month.
Things turn a bit grimmer, though, when her fiancé returns home from his stint in the US Marine Corps to find her "living in a tub of butter" (that one's from The Women). Wondering what guy is providing it all, he becomes jealous of both "the tramp," and of her boss, the owner of the Stork Club; she is just a little too friendly with both of them for his tastes. She doesn't help her cause, either, by transparently lying to him while telling him that he must trust her. Despite all that, the comedy is kept going as misunderstandings multiply, new characters arrive to add complexity to the story, and Hutton's character manipulates her way through the rest of the movie. Everything turns out alright and everyone forgives her in the end, though, for her heart is in the right place (right behind her breastbone, a little to the left of center), and she is just so cute and adorable, you know.
Both ambitious, Hutton's character wants to be a jazz singer, and her fiancé wants to start a jazz band. Showing her versatility, Hutton sings straight jazz, some comedic numbers, and one or two slow and sweet waltzes. When she peeks over a tupidanthus frond during one number and "mugs" at the audience, I am reminded of Lucille Ball.
All in all, enough plot complexity and character personality to remain interesting, plenty of material for comedy (boy-girl relationships, on-the-job situations, and the usual human misunderstandings), and a variety of musical styles (more than just big band jazz) make this film fun and entertaining throughout.

Reviewer: bestpbx - - December 30, 2009
Subject: Great little movie.

This is a good movie.
It is.
Really.

Reviewer: Gopher_Baroque - - December 29, 2009
Subject: fun to watch, story is kind of silly

The female lead is very versatile, singing very well a variety of song styles. Kind of silly, but showed some problems of wealth. Light story, fun to ...